System and method for processing incoming emails

ABSTRACT

A method for processing email is disclosed. The method includes receiving a first email via an email system and storing the first email in a database system communicatively coupled to the email system. The first email is assigned to a first one of a plurality of email queues, each of the plurality of email queues associated with at least one designated user-recipient, the designated user-recipient having a skill set suitable for processing emails within the associated email queue. The first email is subsequently assigned to a second one of the plurality of email queues and an email history of the first email is displayed, the email history describing sequential assignments of the first email to the plurality of email queues and including historical data in a chronological order.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/979,756 filed Apr. 15, 2014, the entirety of which isincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to email processing, and moreparticularly relates to a system and method for efficient andtransparent processing of emails received into a centralized inbox anddistributed to a plurality of queues.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic mail messages, i.e., email, are becoming a preferred methodof communication in business today. Companies with a large number ofemployees often have difficulty processing a large volume of incomingemails in an efficient and transparent manner. In particular, currentsystems and methods of processing emails are limited and impossible totrack. For example, incoming emails may be sent to an incorrect employeeemail account, which may require forwarding the email message to thecorrect employee email account. Subsequently, processing of the emailmay require forwarding the email to more than one department that mayperform various, distinct activities associated with the email. Thismethod of forwarding emails to various users' inboxes does not allowother system users to track the location of the email or quicklydetermine whether the email has been processed properly.

For example, within a law firm, a potential client may email an attorneywith legal questions. Subsequently, the attorney may forward the emailto a legal assistant that may schedule an initial consultation.Thereafter, a legal secretary may be responsible for booking aconference room in accordance with the scheduled consultation, sending aconfirmation email to the potential client, and placing the consultationtime, date and meeting location on the attorney's calendar. Currentemail systems do not provide the attorney with a simple way to verifythat the potential client was processed promptly and correctlythroughout the initial intake process.

As another example, a client may email an attorney inquiring aboutdocketing deadlines or invoices, which, in many current email systems,would require forwarding the email to a paralegal or an accountingdepartment. Accordingly, it may be difficult for a supervising entity todetermine at what stage in a company process a matter associated withthe email is currently at, and whether the matter was promptly attendedto and resolved. Current email processing systems do not provide anefficient system for properly assigning emails to a single individual,and/or tracking the life of an email as it is handled and responded toby one or more individuals within a company according to a companyprocess.

Current email systems do not provide a method that allows supervisingentities to distribute the receipt and handling of emails evenly toemployees that are qualified to handle such emails so that any singleindividual is not overloaded with an undue share of the emails.Additionally, current email systems do not provide the capability toanalyze the efficiency of employee email processing in order to improveproductivity and identify areas that require improvement. Even wheresome companies have developed an efficient internal process for handlingvarious types of emails, current email systems provide limitedfunctionality, which does not allow such companies to implement theseinternal processes in an efficient manner.

Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art asdiscussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a system and method for processing incomingemails that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of theheretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and thatprovides an efficient, transparent, and customizable email system thathandles incoming emails.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, inaccordance with the invention, a computer-implemented method forprocessing email, the method including receiving a first email via anemail system; storing the first email in a database systemcommunicatively coupled to the email system; and assigning the firstemail to a first email queue of a plurality of email queues, each of theplurality of email queues associated with at least one designateduser-recipient, the designated user-recipient having a skill setsuitable for processing emails within the associated email queue. Theemail system stores a first historical data and associates the firsthistorical data with the assignment of the first email to the firstemail queue. The first historical data includes an identification of adesignated user-recipient associated with the assignment to the firstemail queue. After assigning the first email to the first email queue,the email system assigns the first email to a second email queue of theplurality of email queues. The email system stores a second historicaldata and associates the second historical data with the assignment ofthe first email to the second email queue. The second historical dataincludes an identification of a designated user-recipient associatedwith the assignment to the second email queue. An email history of thefirst email is displayed, the email history describing sequentialassignments to the plurality of email queues and including the first andsecond historical data presented in a chronological order.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, assignmentof the first email to the first and the second email queue is performedaccording to a predetermined email process flow.

In accordance with yet another feature of the present invention, thepredetermined email process flow includes a set of customizable rulescreated by an email system administrator.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the firstemail is received into a centralized inbox communicatively coupled tothe email system.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the firstemail is assigned to the second email queue by the designateduser-recipient associated with the first email queue.

In accordance with yet a further feature of the present invention, atime interval is determined, the time interval defined by an amount oftime that a designated user-recipient actively processes the first emailand associates the time interval with said designated user-recipient andthe first email. Said time interval is used to generate a bill forprocessing the first email, the bill includes the time interval and anidentification code identifying a matter associated with the firstemail.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, thedatabase system is operatively configured such that the first email isnot deleteable by an email system user.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the firstemail is selectively re-assigned to an alternate designateduser-recipient in response to an absence of an assigned designateduser-recipient.

In accordance with yet another feature of the present invention, thefirst email is associated with a unique subject matter identifier; and asecond email is received and associated with the unique subject matteridentifier, both the first and second email accessible by an emailsystem user who is not a user-recipient of either of the first or thesecond email via the unique subject matter identifier and without beingforwarded the first and the second emails.

In accordance with another feature, an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium withinstructions stored thereon, that when executed by a processor, performsthe steps of receiving a first email via an email system; storing thefirst email in a database system communicatively coupled to the emailsystem; and assigning the first email to a first email queue of aplurality of email queues, each of the plurality of email queuesassociated with at least one designated user-recipient, the designateduser-recipient having a skill set suitable for processing emails withinthe associated email queue. Further, the instructions includesinstructions for performing the steps of storing a first historical dataand associating the first historical data with the assignment of thefirst email to the first email queue, the first historical dataincluding an identification of a designated user-recipient associatedwith the assignment to the first email queue; after assigning the firstemail to the first email queue, assigning the first email to a secondemail queue of the plurality of email queues; storing a secondhistorical data and associating the second historical data with theassignment of the first email to the second email queue, the secondhistorical data including an identification of a designateduser-recipient associated with the assignment to the second email queue;and in response to a user request, displaying an email history of thefirst email, the email history describing sequential assignments to theplurality of email queues and including the first and second historicaldata in a chronological order.

In accordance with a further feature, an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a system for processing email, the system including acentralized inbox communicatively coupled to an email system, thecentralized inbox operably configured to receive a first email; adatabase system communicatively coupled to the email system, thedatabase system operably configured to store the first email; and aprocessor communicatively coupled to the email system. The processor isoperable to assign the first email to a first email queue of a pluralityof email queues, each of the plurality of email queues associated withat least one designated user-recipient, the designated user-recipienthaving a skill set suitable for processing emails within the associatedemail queue; store a first historical data and associate the firsthistorical data with the assignment of the first email to the firstemail queue, the first historical data including an identification of adesignated user-recipient associated with the assignment to the firstemail queue; and after assigning the first email to the first emailqueue, assign the first email to a second email queue of the pluralityof email queues. The processor is further operable to store a secondhistorical data and associate the second historical data with theassignment of the first email to the second email queue, the secondhistorical data including an identification of a designateduser-recipient associated with the assignment to the second email queue;and in response to a user request, display an email history of the firstemail, the email history describing sequential assignments to theplurality of email queues and including the first and second historicaldata in a chronological order.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedin a system and method for processing incoming emails, it is,nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown becausevarious modifications and structural changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and within the scope andrange of equivalents of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detailor will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of theinvention.

Other features that are considered as characteristic for the inventionare set forth in the appended claims. As required, detailed embodimentsof the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to beunderstood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of theinvention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specificstructural and functional details disclosed herein are not to beinterpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as arepresentative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art tovariously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are notintended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandabledescription of the invention. While the specification concludes withclaims defining the features of the invention that are regarded asnovel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood froma consideration of the following description in conjunction with thedrawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.The figures of the drawings are not drawn to scale.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting. The terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one ormore than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as twoor more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as atleast a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as usedherein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term“coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although notnecessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term“providing” is defined herein in its broadest sense, e.g.,bringing/coming into physical existence, making available, and/orsupplying to someone or something, in whole or in multiple parts at onceor over a period of time.

As used herein, the terms “about” or “approximately” apply to allnumeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These termsgenerally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art wouldconsider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the samefunction or result). In many instances these terms may include numbersthat are rounded to the nearest significant figure. The terms “program,”“software application,” and the like as used herein, are defined as asequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system. A“program,” “computer program,” or “software application” may include asubroutine, a function, a procedure, an object method, an objectimplementation, an executable application, an applet, a servlet, asource code, an object code, a shared library/dynamic load libraryand/or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on acomputer system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which together with the detailed description below are incorporatedin and form part of the specification, serve to further illustratevarious embodiments and explain various principles and advantages all inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary distributed data processingnetwork with a sender computer and an email system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data processing system that may beimplemented as a network device, such as the sender computer or a servercomputer within the email system as shown in FIG. 1, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3a is a process flow chart representing an exemplary method forprocessing an email within a network in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3b is continuation flow chart of the exemplary process shown inFIG. 3a , in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a screenshot of an exemplary software application at leastpartially implementing the inventive process, the screenshot depicting alogin screen on a user's computer terminal in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of two exemplary methods of dividing queues inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is screenshot of the exemplary software application of FIG. 4depicting a user interface displaying a log of a single email's historyin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of the exemplary software application of FIG. 4depicting a user interface displaying another exemplary log of a singleemail's history in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a screenshot of the exemplary software application of FIG. 4depicting a user interface displaying an email administrator's interfacein accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a screenshot of the exemplary software application of FIG. 4depicting a user interface displaying a graphical report illustrating anamount of hours billed responding to emails over a period of time inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the specification concludes with claims defining the features ofthe invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theinvention will be better understood from a consideration of thefollowing description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in whichlike reference numerals are carried forward. It is to be understood thatthe disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, whichcan be embodied in various forms.

The present invention provides a novel and efficient system and methodfor processing incoming emails into an email system with a multitude ofemail accounts/users within a single domain. Embodiments of theinvention provide a centralized inbox that receives all incoming emails.In addition, embodiments of the invention provide a user-customizableprocess flow module that can restrict the flow of email assignmentsaccording to user-specified process flow rules. In some embodiments, theemail system includes a plurality of email queues that can be dividedaccording to, for example, user and/or subject matter. In furtherembodiments, one or more users can be associated with each email queueand only users associated with an email queue can receive, respond,and/or otherwise process the emails within the queue. In yet furtherembodiments, users can perform an action on an email and then assignand/or re-assign the email to another user or queue for furtherprocessing. In another embodiment, historical data describing date,time, and user assignment can be associated with the email so that userscan quickly view a chronological history of the life of the emailthroughout the email system as the email is assigned, acted on, andre-assigned to different users and queues. In yet another embodiment, atimer can be associated with the email, such that a user is able torecord the amount of time it took the user to respond to or otherwiseact on the email. In yet a further embodiment, the email system isconfigured to extract data, analyze data, and generate reports on, forexample, time frames for responding to emails, efficiency of emailprocessing, employee production, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present invention isshown in a block diagram view. FIG. 1 shows several advantageousfeatures of the present invention, but, as will be described below, theinvention can be provided in several shapes, sizes, combinations offeatures and components, and varying numbers and functions of thecomponents. The first example of a network 100 of data processingsystems in which the present invention may be implemented, as shown inFIG. 1, includes connections 102 a-n, which are the medium used toprovide communications links between various devices and computersconnected together within the network 100. As used herein, “a” isintended to indicate 1 and “n” can be any number greater than 1. Theconnections 102 a-n may be wired or wireless connections. A fewexemplary wired connections are cable, phone line, and fiber optic.Exemplary wireless connections include radio frequency (RF) and infraredradiation (IR) transmission. Many other wired and wireless connectionsare known in the art and can be used with the present invention.

In the depicted examples, the network 100 includes a sender computer 104and an email system 106. It is understood that there can be any numberof sender computers 104, which may send emails to the email system 106and receive response emails from the email system 106 via a network,such as the Internet 108. The Internet 108 represents a worldwidecollection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite ofprotocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet108 is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between majornodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial,government, educational and other computer systems that route data andmessages. Of course, the network 100 also may be implemented as a numberof different types of networks, such as for example, an Intranet, alocal area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN). FIG. 1 isintended as an example, and not as an architectural limitation for thepresent invention.

The sender computer 104 can be considered an email terminal that allowsusers to send emails over a network, such as the Internet 108. Thesender computer 104 can be, for example, a personal computer (PC), acomputer tablet, a smart phone or other mobile electronic device, andthe like, operable to connect to email servers over the Internet 108. Inone embodiment, the sender computer 104 runs an email client thatenables computers to receive and send emails to other email clients viaan email server that routes emails. In a preferred embodiment, thesender computer 104 includes a network interface card that facilitatescommunication of the sender computer 104 with devices, components,servers, particularly email servers, etc. over the Internet 108.

In one embodiment, the email system 106 includes an incoming emailserver 110 that receives all incoming emails, a queue system 118including a plurality of email queues, and a user email box system 120,where the number of queues and boxes between “1” and “n” can be anynumber. In one embodiment, the incoming email server 110 routes allincoming emails to a centralized inbox 112. Stated another way, anyemail account can be linked to the email system 106 so that all incomingemails for the email account are received into the centralized inbox 122for processing by the email system 106 in accordance with the presentinvention. As an example, in one embodiment, an email box associatedwith the address legalmail@abc.com is linked to the email system 106 sothat all emails sent to legalmail@abc.com are received by the emailsystem 106 where they can be organized, formatted as nondeletableemails, disbursed to a plurality of queues, and chronologies created andsaved as the emails move from one queue to the next. In anotherembodiment, the centralized inbox 112 is a memory storage locationwithin the email system 106 dedicated to receiving and/or storing allincoming emails. In yet another embodiment, the incoming email server110 routes some emails directly to an addressee user email box, withoutbeing processed through the queue system 118, whereas the remainingemails are routed through the queue system 118 and the centralized inbox112. For example, the email system 106 can be configured such that aportion of the user email boxes 120, which may have been specified by anemail administrator, are to receive emails directly, without beingprocessed through the queue system 118. Such specified user email boxes120 may be associated with users that require confidentiality ofcommunications and the like. In yet another embodiment, the email system106 can be configured such that, by default, email is routed by theincoming email server 110 directly to the addressee user email boxwithout being processed through the queue system 118, while certainspecified email box accounts (e.g., support@corp.com) are directed tothe centralized inbox 112 for processing through the queue system 118.

In one embodiment, the email system 106 may include a database system114. In one embodiment, the database system 114 includes non-transitorymemory and is configured to store all incoming emails. In anotherembodiment, the database system 114 can be considered a back-up storagefor all emails. In yet another embodiment, the database system 114 isoperatively configured such that emails are not deletable by a user ofthe email system 106. As used herein, an “email system user” is definedas a user having an email account associated with the email system 106and a corresponding user email box. In one embodiment, the email system106 can be configured such that only users having an email administratoror other specialized account may delete emails. In another embodiment,the database system 114 is operatively configured such that emailattachments are not deletable by a user of the email system 106.

In FIG. 1, the database system 114 is shown as a separate component fromthe centralized inbox 112. In other embodiments, the database system 114is included in the centralized inbox 112. In yet other embodiments, thecentralized inbox 112 can be considered the database system 114 in thatall incoming emails received into the centralized inbox 112 are storedin at least a portion of non-transitory memory defining the centralizedinbox 112, such that a separate database is not required. In oneembodiment, the database system 114 includes one database. In otherembodiments, the database system 114 includes more than one database.

In one embodiment, the email system 106 further includes an emailprocess flow module 116. In another embodiment, the email process flowmodule 116 can be considered a software application or a set of computerinstructions configured to determine where to assign emails from thecentralized inbox 112. In a further embodiment, the email process flowmodule 116 includes instructions to assign all incoming emails to aninitial intake queue, e.g., Queue 1, where one or more email systemusers associated with the initial intake queue reviews the emails andassigns the emails to an appropriate queue based on a company process.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a queue system 118′ may bedivided according to general subject matter, where the initial intakequeue users are tasked with reviewing the emails to determine generalsubject matter and assign each email to the corresponding subject matterqueue. In another embodiment, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the queue system118″ may be divided according to email system user and the initialintake queue user reviews the emails to determine which user the emailshould be assigned to and subsequently assigns the email to theappropriate email system user's queue. In yet a further embodiment, theemail process flow module 116 is configured with instructions toautomatically evenly distribute all incoming emails to all queues or toa subset of queues. For example, the email process flow module 116 maydistribute all incoming emails to queue 1, queue 2, and queue 3 so as toevenly distribute the emails to each of said queues. In yet anotherembodiment, the email process flow module 116 is configured todistribute all emails to a subset of queues, unless one of the subset ofqueues reaches a predetermined threshold of unanswered emails, whichresults in distribution of emails to a second, alternative subset ofqueues that can be considered overflow queues that do not receiveincoming emails unless there is a backlog of unanswered emails. As isapparent, there can be many ways to configure the email process flowmodule 116 to control, direct, and/or manage the flow of incomingemails. In a preferred embodiment, the email process flow module 116 isconfigured so as to allow email administrators or other special useraccounts to create a set of customizable rules according to a desiredcompany process for handling emails and assigning emails to variousqueues. As used herein, the term “customizable rules” is intended toindicate a set of user-selected or user-created rules to control how theemail system 100 processes, handles, and/or assigns emails. In oneembodiment, the customizable rules can include rules specifying that akey word within the body of the email determines the flow of the email(e.g., which queue(s) the email will be assigned to). In anotherembodiment, the customizable rules can include rules specifying that thesource of the email or the email sender determines the flow of theemail. For example, all emails from a particular domain can beautomatically assigned to a designated queue for receiving incomingemails from said domain.

Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system 200that may be implemented as a sender computer 104 or implemented as aserver, such as the incoming email server 110, as shown in FIG. 1, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown. Thedata processing system 200 may be a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP)system including a plurality of processors 202 and 204 connected tosystem bus 206. Alternatively, a single processor system may beemployed. Also, connected to system bus 206 is memory controller/cache208, which provides an interface to local memory 209. An I/O bus bridge210 is connected to system bus 206 and provides an interface to I/O bus212. The memory controller/cache 208 and I/O bus bridge 210 may beintegrated as depicted. The processor 202 or 204 in conjunction withmemory controller 208 controls what data is stored in memory 209. Theprocessor 202 and/or 204 and memory controller 208 can serve as a datacounter for counting the rate of data flow to the memory 209 or from thememory 209 and can also count the total volume of data accessed to orfrom the memory 209. The processor 202 or 204 can also work inconjunction with any other memory device or storage location.

Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge 214 connected to I/Obus 212 provides an interface to PCI local bus 216. A number of modems218, or wireless cards, may be connected to PCI bus 216. Typical PCI busimplementations will support four PCI expansion slots or add-inconnectors. PCI includes, but is not necessarily limited to, PCI-X andPCI Express components. Communications links to the network of computersin FIG. 1 may be provided through the modem 218 and network adapter 220connected to PCI local bus 216 through add-in boards.

Additional PCI bus bridges 222 and 224 provide interfaces for additionalPCI buses 226 and 228, from which additional modems or network adaptersmay be supported. In this manner, the data processing system 200 allowsconnections to a multiple network of computers. A graphics adapter 230and hard disk 232 may also be connected to I/O bus 212 as depicted,either directly or indirectly.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardwaredepicted in FIG. 2 may vary. For example, other peripheral devices, suchas optical disk drives and the like, also may be used in addition to orin place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is not meant toimply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

The method of the present invention is explained in detail below and canbe embodied in a computer program. Computer programs (also calledcomputer control logic) are stored in memory such as main memory 209,removable storage drive 231, removable media 233, hard disk 232, andsignals. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computersystem to perform the features of the present invention as discussedherein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable theprocessor 202 and/or 204 to perform the features of the presentlyinventive method.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium,” “computer usablemedium,” and “computer readable medium” are used to generally refer tomedia such as main memory 209, removable storage drive 231, removablemedia 233, hard disk 232, and signals. These computer program productsare means for providing software to the computer system. The computerreadable medium allows the computer system to read data, instructions,messages or message packets, and other computer readable informationfrom the computer readable medium. The computer readable medium, forexample, may include non-volatile memory, such as Floppy, ROM, Flashmemory, Disk drive memory, CD-ROM, and other permanent storage. It isuseful, for example, for transporting information, such as data andcomputer instructions, between computer systems. Furthermore, thecomputer readable medium may comprise computer readable information in atransitory state medium such as a network link and/or a networkinterface, including a wired or wireless network that allows a computerto read such computer readable information.

Referring to FIGS. 3a -3 b, an exemplary process is described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 4-9. Although FIGS. 3a-3b show a specific orderof executing the process steps, the order of executing the steps may bechanged relative to the order shown in certain embodiments. Also, two ormore blocks shown in succession may be executed concurrently or withpartial concurrence in some embodiments. Certain steps may also beomitted in FIGS. 3a-3b for the sake of brevity.

The process of FIG. 3 begins at step 300 and moves directly to step 302,where the email system 106 receives a first email from a non-usersender. As used herein, the term “non-user sender” is defined as asender computer 104 that is not associated with the email system 106. Inother words, a non-user sender is an email terminal that sends emails toa domain associated with the email system 106, but is not an emailterminal with an email box within the email system 106 or having anemail account associated with said domain.

In one embodiment, the first email is received into the incoming emailserver 110. In a further embodiment, the first email is received intothe incoming email server 110 and subsequently sent to the centralizedinbox 112. In yet a further embodiment, the first email is stored innon-transitory memory associated with the centralized inbox 112. Inanother embodiment, emails that are assigned to queues are deleted fromthe centralized inbox 112 to clear memory for subsequent incomingemails.

In step 304, the email system 106 stores the first email in the databasesystem 114 communicatively coupled to the email system 106. In oneembodiment, the email system 106 stores the first email withinnon-transitory member of the database system 114. In another embodiment,the first email is stored in the database system 114 such that the firstemail is not deleteable by an email system user. In a furtherembodiment, the first email is stored in the database system 114 suchthat the first email is only deletable by an email administrator of theemail system 106. This provides a level of security and accountabilityover company employees who may, for personal reasons, desire to deletecertain unfavorable emails. In one embodiment, the database system 114is a component of the incoming email server 110.

In step 306, the email system 106 assigns the first email to a first oneof a plurality of email queues. In one embodiment, a queue can beconsidered a segment of computer memory dedicated to storing items inthe queue, such as emails and associated data. In another embodiment,the queue includes a first-in-first-out (FIFO) organized sequence ofitems or emails. In other words, the queue can be organized such thatthe first email into the queue is the first email that exits the queuefor assignment of said email to a user email box associated with thequeue. In a further embodiment, assignment of the first email to anemail queue is performed according to a predetermined email processflow. As described above in reference to the email process flow module116 depicted in FIG. 1, assignment of emails to queues can be performedaccording to instructions and/or rules created for a particular company.For example, a customer service center may select an email process flowdifferent from an email process flow desired by a law firm. In oneembodiment, the email process flow includes a set of customizable rulescreated by an email system administrator and executed by the emailsystem 106. As used herein, an “email system administrator” is an emailsystem user whose system account includes permissions to alter or changecompany-wide email configurations within the email system 106, whichpermissions are different from permissions granted to accounts oftypical email system users. In a further embodiment, each of theplurality of email queues is associated with at least one designeduser-recipient. As used herein, the term “designated user-recipient” isintended to indicate an email system user associated with an email queueand thereby designated to receive at least a portion of emails withinsaid email queue. In yet a further embodiment, the designateduser-recipient has a skill set suitable for processing emails within theassociated email queue. Stated another way, each designateduser-recipient assigned to an email queue possesses a skill set suitablefor processing or handling emails intended for said email queue. Forexample, an email system implemented for a customer service center mayinclude one queue for billing issues and another queue for informationtechnology (I.T.) issues. Accordingly, designated user-recipients forthe billing issues' queue are qualified to handle billing issues andoperate on computers with access to the company's billing system,whereas designated user-recipients for the I.T. issues' queue are I.T.technicians that are capable of handling I.T.-related computer/websiteissues. In one embodiment, the designated user-recipient is selectivelyassociated with the email queue by an email system administrator.

In one embodiment, before the designated user-recipient can accessemails within his or her queue, the designated user-recipient may berequired to login to his or her email account. FIG. 4 depicts anexemplary login user interface 400. Subsequent to creating a login, auser may input his or her username or email account and password inorder to be given access to his/her email account user interface.

In step 308, the designated user-recipient associated with the first oneof the plurality of email queues performs a first action related to thefirst email. As used herein, the term “action” is defined as an act oracts performed by a designated user-recipient that moves an emailforward within a company process toward a resolution of a matter or anissue associated with the email. For example, one exemplary action maybe to assign the first email to another queue. Another exemplary actionmay include downloading an attachment, reviewing the attachment, andsaving the attachment to an appropriate file. Yet another exemplaryaction may include drafting a reply to the first email and sending thereply. Another exemplary action may include responding to the email byresolving a request within the email to docket for a deadline andsending a confirmation response email. As is apparent, many actions canbe performed to transition a matter associated with an email toward aresolution. In one embodiment, the email system 106 can include a userinterface with a progress status bar 702 visually indicating where,within a company process, the processed email is currently at (see FIG.7). Advantageously, designated user-recipients and other email systemusers may be able to view whether the matter or issue is resolved,and/or approximately how much more processing the matter associated withthe email requires before a resolution is achieved.

In step 310, the email system 106 generates a first historical dataassociated with the first action. Advantageously, historical data canallow email system users to quickly determine how, who, what, where,and/or when actions were performed on the first email. For example,email system users may be able to view historical data so as to be ableto quickly determine which email system users have been assigned thefirst email and when the assignments took place. Assigning an email toan email system user is an improvement over prior art systems whereusers can only forward emails to one another. Forwarding an emailresults in the email being sent to the recipient user's inbox, but thisdoes not allow the user who originally forwarded the email to be able toquickly determine if and when the recipient acted on the email in aconvenient, transparent manner, as with the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts a screenshot of an exemplary user interface 600 thatdisplays historical data associated with an email. As used herein, theterm “historical data” is defined as data providing information about anaction performed on an email, the information being associated with adate, a time, or other time-related data. Preferably, the historicaldata describes a sequence of actions performed on the email, rather thana single action performed at a single time or date. In one embodiment,the historical data includes a time interval defined by an amount oftime that a designated user-recipient performed an action on the firstemail (e.g., the amount of time it took a designated user-recipient toprepare a response email). In another embodiment, the historical dataincludes a date and/or time when the first email was assigned to adesignated user-recipient. In another embodiment, the historical dataincludes a data and/or time when the first email was received into orassigned to a queue. In yet another embodiment, the historical dataincludes a description of an action performed by a designateduser-recipient on the first email (e.g., re-assignment of the firstemail to another user-recipient). In yet another embodiment, thehistorical data may include an amount of time it took for the firstemail to be processed through to resolution. In yet a furtherembodiment, the historical data may include an amount of time it tookfor a designated user-recipient to perform an action on the email fromwhen the designated user-recipient was initially assigned the firstemail. In one embodiment, a user-interface associated with an emailsystem user may include a timer for measuring elapsed time. The timermay include a start button and a stop button, similar to a stopwatchfeature. In a further embodiment, the timer may be used for billingpurposes. For example, law firms bill clients based on an hourly rate;therefore, measuring the time interval for performing an action on anemail can be useful for billing purposes when billing for time dedicatedto an email. In one embodiment, the timer can be used to determine atime interval defined by an amount of time that a designateduser-recipient actively processed the first email. As used herein, theterm “actively process” is defined as actively handling an email byperforming an action associated with the email (as opposed to a passiveaction, such as allowing the email to sit in an inbox or queue withoutbeing acted on).

In one embodiment, the time interval is associated with the designateduser who performed the action and the time interval is also associatedwith the acted upon email. The association can occur, for example,through computer programming, whereby, for example, a programming objectassociated with the first email may include a data field storing thetime interval and a data field storing an identification of thedesignated user-recipient. The association of the first email tocollected data, such as time intervals and designated user-recipientsassigned thereto, can be accomplished in any number of methods known inthe art for associating one set of data with another using a computer.In a further embodiment, the time interval is used to generate a bill orinvoice for processing the first email. In yet a further embodiment, thebill includes an identification of the time interval and anidentification code (e.g., docket number, account number, customerservice request number, etc.) identifying a matter or issue associatedwith the first email. The identification code can be an alphanumericcode.

In step 312, the email system 106 stores the first historical data inthe database system 114 or other non-transitory memory communicativelycoupled to the email system 106. In one embodiment, the email system 106associates the first historical data with the assignment of the firstemail to the first one of the plurality of email queues. Advantageously,the first email becomes associated with a multitude of descriptiveinformation that is able to allow email system users to quickly andeasily determine when and what actions were performed on the first emailthroughout its processing life through the email system 106. In oneembodiment, the first historical data includes an identification of adesignated user-recipient associated with the assignment to the firstone of the plurality of email queues. For example, FIG. 6 depicts ascreenshot showing historical data that includes an identification of anemail system user, Asiel, describing that Asiel performed an action ofassigning new documents at 20:55 and performed an action of re-assigningthe email at 20:56 on Mar. 14, 2014. By associating times and actionswith a designated user-recipient, a supervising entity or other emailsystem users can identify which employee(s) have participated inprocessing the first email through the email system 106. Thisinformation can be useful for many purposes, including, but not limitedto, verifying billing entries, verifying work performance, following upon matters, knowing which employee to contact in order to inquire intofurther details regarding the matter, etc.

In step 314, after assigning the first email to the first one of theplurality of email queues, the email system 106 assigns the first emailto a second email queue, different from the first email queue. In oneembodiment, assignment of the first email to the second queue isperformed automatically according to the predetermined email processflow. In another embodiment, assignment of the first email to the secondemail queue is performed by the designated user-recipient associatedwith the first queue. In an exemplary embodiment, assignment of thefirst email from one queue to another queue is performed by thedesignated user-recipient associated with the previously assigned queue,rather than the predetermined email process flow. In a furtherembodiment, each email terminal within the email system 106 that has auser email box may be restricted to a predetermined email process flow.For example, in one embodiment, the user email box 1 may be configuredso as to be able to assign emails only to user email box 2. As anotherexample, in another embodiment, the email terminal associated with useremail box 3 may be configured so as to be able to receive assignmentsonly from user email box 5. Advantageously, this allows companies to beable to control the assignment of emails through the email system 106 ona terminal-by-terminal basis, as well as, or instead of an overallpredetermined email process flow.

In step 316, the designated user-recipient associated with the secondemail queue performs a second action related to the first email. In oneembodiment, the second action is different from the first action. Forexample, one exemplary action may be to assign the first email toanother queue. Another exemplary action may include downloading anattachment, reviewing the attachment, and saving the attachment to anappropriate file. Yet another exemplary action may include drafting areply to the first email and sending the reply. Another exemplary actionmay include responding to the email by resolving a request within theemail to docket for a deadline and sending a confirmation responseemail. As is apparent, many actions can be performed to transition amatter associated with an email toward a resolution.

In one embodiment, subsequent emails can be associated with priorincoming emails such that emails associated with the same subject ormatter are coupled together. For example, a first incoming email may bereplied to by a first email account user within the email system 100.Subsequently, a second incoming email may be received by a second emailaccount user within the email system 100 regarding the same matter. Thefirst and second email account users may associate the first and secondincoming emails, respectively, with said matter by, for example,associating the emails with a unique alphanumeric identifier associatedwith said matter. Accordingly, a third email account user within theemail system 100 may access the matter and be able to view all emailsassociated with that matter, without the need to be forwarded all theemails from the various email account users in order to view the subjectmatter history, as is the case with many existing email systems. In oneembodiment, associating emails with a subject matter includesassociating emails with a unique subject matter identifier (e.g. docketnumber or matter reference number) by, for example, a user entering theunique subject matter identifier into a user interface input field on acomputer terminal to associate a received email with the unique subjectmatter identifier. In another embodiment, accessing all emailsassociated with the unique subject matter identifier may include theuser clicking on an icon or button associated with the unique subjectmatter identifier and being presented all of the emails in a singlescreen/computer user interface.

In step 318, the email system 106 generates a second historical dataassociated with the second action. In one embodiment, the secondhistorical data is different from the first historical data.Advantageously, historical data can allow email system users to quicklydetermine how, who, what, where, and when actions were performed on thefirst email. For example, email system users may be able to viewhistorical data so as to be able to quickly determine which email systemusers have been assigned the first email and when the assignments tookplace. FIG. 6 depicts the exemplary user interface 600 that displayshistorical data associated with the first email. Preferably, thehistorical data describes a sequence of actions performed on the firstemail, rather than a single action performed at a single time or date.In one embodiment, the historical data includes a time interval definedby an amount of time that a designated user-recipient performed anaction on the first email (e.g., the amount of time it took a designateduser-recipient to prepare a response email). In another embodiment, thehistorical data includes a date and/or time when the first email wasassigned to a designated user-recipient. In another embodiment, thehistorical data includes a date and/or time when the first email wasreceived into or assigned to a queue. In yet another embodiment, thehistorical data includes a description of an action performed by adesignated user-recipient on the first email (e.g., re-assignment of thefirst email to another user-recipient). In yet another embodiment, thehistorical data may include an amount of time it took for the firstemail to be processed through to resolution. In yet a furtherembodiment, the historical data may include an amount of time it tookfor a designated user-recipient to perform an action on the email fromwhen the designated user-recipient was initially assigned the firstemail.

In step 320, the email system 106 stores the second historical data inthe database system 114 or other non-transitory memory communicativelycoupled to the email system 106. In one embodiment, the email system 106associates the second historical data with the assignment of the firstemail to the second email queue. Advantageously, the first email becomesassociated with a multitude of descriptive information that is able toallow email system users to quickly and easily determine when and whatactions were performed on the first email throughout its processing lifethrough the email system 106. In one embodiment, the second historicaldata includes an identification of a designated user-recipientassociated with the assignment to the second email queue. For example,FIG. 6 depicts the screenshot showing historical data that includes anidentification of an email system user, Samantha, describing thatSamantha performed an action of assigning new documents at 16:05 andperformed an action of re-assigning the email at 16:05 on Mar. 24, 2014.By associating times and actions with a designated user-recipient, asupervising entity or other email system users can identify whichemployee(s) have participated in processing the first email through theemail system 106. This information can be useful for many purposes,including, but not limited to, verifying billing entries, verifying workperformance, following up on matters, knowing which employee to contactin order to inquire into further details regarding the matter, etc.

In step 322, in response to an email system user request, the emailsystem 106 displays, on a display communicatively coupled to an emailterminal of said user, the email history describing sequentialassignments to the plurality of email queues. In one embodiment, theemail history includes the first and second historical data in achronological order. In one embodiment, the chronological order is adescending chronological order. In an alternative embodiment, thechronological order is an ascending chronological order. In anotherembodiment, the email history is displayed on a single screen. FIG. 6depicts an exemplary embodiment of the email history for a single emailas it was processed through the email system 106. Advantageously,sequential assignments throughout the plurality of email queues aretracked and stored in non-transitory memory and associated with theemail being sequentially assigned such that at any point in time itsemail history can be accessed to determine where the email is currentlyat within the email system 106.

As is common, employees may be absent from work for a period time. Insuch cases, it may be desirable to re-assign emails to an alternatedesignated user-recipient so that emails can continue to be processedeven where an employee is absent. In one embodiment, the email system106 may allow an email administrator, supervising entity, or other emailsystem user to selectively re-assign the first email to an alternatedesigned user-recipient in response to an absence of an assigneddesignated user-recipient. This feature can be particularly useful wherean employee absence is considered rather lengthy as compared to thestandard processing time for an email. In an alternative embodiment, theemail system 106 may automatically re-assign the first email to thealternate designated user-recipient when the email system 106 determinesthat the designated user-recipient is absent. In one embodiment, theemail system 106 may be configured to make such determination when theemail system 106 determines that the email terminal associated with anemployee has been inactive for a predetermined period of time, such as 5hours, on a business day, as measured from the beginning of the workday, e.g., 8 a.m. In another embodiment, email system users can escalateemails involving exposure by assigning the email to a manager queue. Inyet another embodiment, the email system 106 can automatically escalateemails that have been idle, i.e., not acted on, for a predeterminedperiod of time by automatically assigning the email to a senior managerqueue if the email has not been acted on within, for example, 5 days.The process ends at step 324.

Referring to FIG. 7, a screenshot 700 of an exemplary user interfacedisplayed on an email system user's email terminal is illustrated. Thescreenshot 700 illustrates an example of the email history 704. Thescreenshot 700 also illustrates the progress status bar 702, whichvisually indicates where, within a company process, the processed emailis currently at. The progress status bar 702 can be implemented in anynumber of sizes, shapes, and configurations used to visually indicateprogress, such as, for example, a circular pie chart, rather than arectangular bar.

Referring to FIG. 8, a screenshot 800 of an exemplary user interface isdepicted. The screenshot 800 can be considered a home screen for alogged-in email system user that displays a multitude of email-relatedinformation to the user via a display communicatively coupled to theuser's email terminal. In one embodiment, the user interface isdisplayed via a browser. In another embodiment, the user interface isdisplayed via another type of software application. The screenshot 800shows a list of matters in each of a plurality of queues. The screenshot800 also provides analytical data, such as the average hours billed permatter during a time period, emails processed during a time period,matters implemented during a time period, etc.

Referring to FIG. 9, a screenshot 900 of a graphical chart displayinganalytical data is shown. In particular, the screenshot 900 shows agraphical chart of the amount of hours bills through the email system106 over a thirty day time period. In other embodiments, the graphicalchart can show other email analytics, such as an amount of emailsprocessed over a specified time period, an amount of matters implementedover a specified time period, an amount of time a particular emailsystem user has spent reviewing emails over a specified time, etc.Advantageously, the email system 106 can allow email administrators tospecify and select particular data items to track, analyze, and generatereports about.

A novel and inventive system and method for processing incoming emailsinto an email system with a multitude of email user accounts has beendisclosed that allows the incoming emails to be processed efficientlythrough a company process via a queue system. The queue system includesa plurality of email queues that can be organized according to user orsubject matter of the email. Incoming emails are assigned to an initialintake queue and then re-assigned to another queue depending on theemail content. A single email can be assigned to more than one queue atdifferent time periods as it is being processed through the email systemby various email account users. The email system is able to track theemail as it travels through the queue system and is acted on by variousemail system users at various times through the life of the email. Thishistorical data can be easily accessed by email system users so that achronological history of the email can be provided with ease. The emailsystem provides email transparency in that the chronological history ofthe email is easily accessible and analytics regarding email use andother email-related data can be analyzed and reported on in order toimprove the efficiency of email processing and employee production.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for processingemail, the method comprising: receiving a first email via an emailsystem; storing the first email in a database system communicativelycoupled to the email system; assigning the first email to a first one ofa plurality of email queues in a first assignment, each of the pluralityof email queues associated with at least one designated user-recipient,the at least one designated user-recipient having a skill set suitablefor processing emails within the associated email queue; a designateduser-recipient associated with the first one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the first one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing a first action related to the first email,wherein the first action is at least one of drafting and sending a replyto the first email, or resolving a request within the first email bydocketing a deadline and sending a confirmation response email; theemail system, in response to the designated user-recipient associatedwith the first one of the plurality of email queues accessing the firstemail from the first one of the plurality of email queues and performingthe first action related to the first email, automatically generatingand storing a first historical data and associating the first historicaldata with the first assignment of the first email to the first one ofthe plurality of email queues, the first historical data including anidentification of the designated user-recipient associated with thefirst one of the plurality of email queues and an indication of anamount of time spent by the designated user-recipient associated withthe first one of the plurality of email queues in performing the firstaction and a description of the first action; after assigning the firstemail to the first one of the plurality of email queues and in responseto the designated user-recipient associated with the first one of theplurality of email queues accessing the first email from the first oneof the plurality of email queues and performing the first action relatedto the first email, assigning the first email to a second one of theplurality of email queues in a second assignment; a designateduser-recipient associated with the second one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the second one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing a second action related to the first emailthat is different from the first action; the email system, in responseto the designated user-recipient associated with the second one of theplurality of email queues accessing the first email from the second oneof the plurality of email queues and performing the second actionrelated to the first email, automatically generating and storing asecond historical data and associating the second historical data withthe assignment of the first email to the second one of the plurality ofemail queues, the second historical data including an identification ofa designated user-recipient associated with the second assignment to thesecond one of the plurality of email queues and an indication of anamount of time spent by the designated user-recipient associated withthe second one of the plurality of email queues in performing the secondaction and a description of the second action; the email systemdisplaying an email history of the first email, the email historydescribing sequential assignments to the plurality of email queues andincluding the first and second historical data in a chronological order;determining a first time interval, defined as the amount of time thatthe designated user-recipient associated with the first one of theplurality of email queues spent performing the first action based on thefirst historical data; determining a second time interval, defined asthe amount of time that the designated user-recipient associated withthe second one of the plurality of email queues spent performing thesecond action on the first email based on the second historical data;and generating a bill for processing the first email, the bill includingthe first time interval, description of the first action, the secondtime interval, the description of the second action, and anidentification code identifying a matter associated with the firstemail.
 2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein: assignment ofthe first email to the first and the second ones of the plurality ofemail queues is performed according to a predetermined email processflow.
 3. The method in accordance with claim 2, wherein: thepredetermined email process flow includes a set of customizable rulescreated by an email system administrator.
 4. The method in accordancewith claim 1, wherein: receiving the first email includes receiving thefirst email into a centralized inbox communicatively coupled to theemail system.
 5. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein:assigning the first email to the second one of the plurality of emailqueues is performed by the designated user-recipient associated with thefirst one of the plurality of email queues.
 6. The method in accordancewith claim 1, further comprising: displaying a progress bar for thefirst email with the first email when the first email is accessed by thedesignated user-recipient associated with the first one of the pluralityof email queues indicating a first progress amount; and displaying aprogress bar for the first email with the first email when the firstemail is accessed by the designated user-recipient associated with thesecond one of the plurality of email queues indicating a second progressamount that is more than the first progress amount.
 7. The method inaccordance with claim 1, wherein: the database system is operativelyconfigured such that the first email is not deleteable by an emailsystem user.
 8. The method in accordance with claim 1, furthercomprising: selectively re-assigning the first email to an alternatedesignated user-recipient in response to an absence of an assigneddesignated user-recipient.
 9. The method in accordance with claim 1,further comprising: associating the first email with a unique subjectmatter identifier; receiving a second email and associating the secondemail with the unique subject matter identifier, both the first andsecond email accessible by an email system user who is not auser-recipient of either of the first or the second email via the uniquesubject matter identifier and without being forwarded the first and thesecond emails.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium withinstructions stored thereon, that when executed by a processor, performsthe steps comprising: receiving a first email via an email system;storing the first email in a database system communicatively coupled tothe email system; assigning the first email to a first one of aplurality of email queues in a first assignment, each of the pluralityof email queues associated with at least one designated user-recipient,the at least one designated user-recipient having a skill set suitablefor processing emails within the associated email queue; a designateduser-recipient associated with the first one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the first one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing a first action related to the first email,wherein the first action is at least one of drafting and sending a replyto the first email, or resolving a request within the first email bydocketing a deadline and sending a confirmation response email; inresponse to the designated user-recipient associated with the first oneof the plurality of email queues accessing the first email from thefirst one of the plurality of email queues and performing the firstaction related to the first email, generating and storing a firsthistorical data and associating the first historical data with the firstassignment of the first email to the first one of the plurality of emailqueues, the first historical data including an identification of thedesignated user-recipient associated with the first one of the pluralityof email queues and an indication of an amount of time spent by thedesignated user-recipient associated with the first one of the pluralityof email queues to perform the first action; after assigning the firstemail to the first one of the plurality of email queues and in responseto the designated user-recipient associated with the first one of theplurality of email queues accessing the first email from the first oneof the plurality of email queues and performing the first action relatedto the first email, assigning the first email to a second one of theplurality of email queues in a second assignment; a designateduser-recipient associated with the second one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the second one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing a second action related to the first emailthat is different from the first action; in response to the designateduser-recipient associated with the second one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the second one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing the second action related to the firstemail, generating and storing a second historical data and associatingthe second historical data with the second assignment of the first emailto the second one of the plurality of email queues, the secondhistorical data including an identification of the designateduser-recipient associated with the second one of the plurality of emailqueues and an indication of an amount of time spent by the designateduser-recipient associated with the second one of the plurality of emailqueues to perform the second action; in response to a user request,displaying an email history of the first email, the email historydescribing sequential assignments to the plurality of email queues andincluding the first and second historical data in a chronological order;determining a first time interval, defined as the amount of time thatthe designated user-recipient associated with the first one of theplurality of email queues spent performing the first action based on thefirst historical data; determining a second time interval, defined asthe amount of time that the designated user-recipient associated withthe second one of the plurality of email queues spent performing thesecond action on the first email based on the second historical data;and generating a bill for processing the first email, the bill includingthe first time interval, description of the first action, the secondtime interval, the description of the second action, and anidentification code identifying a matter associated with the firstemail.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable medium in accordancewith claim 10, wherein: assigning the first email to the first and thesecond ones of the plurality of email queues is performed according to apredetermined email process flow.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium in accordance with claim 11, wherein: the predeterminedemail process flow includes a set of customizable rules created by anemail system administrator.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedium in accordance with claim 10, wherein: assigning the first emailto the second one of the plurality of email queues is performed by thedesignated user-recipient associated with the first one of the pluralityof email queues.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium inaccordance with claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise:determining a time interval defined by an amount of time that adesignated user-recipient actively processes the first email in theassociated email queue and associating the time interval with saiddesignated user-recipient and the first email; and using said timeinterval to generate a bill for processing the first email, the billincluding the time interval and an identification code identifying amatter associated with the first email.
 15. The non-transitory computerreadable medium in accordance with claim 10, wherein: the databasesystem is operatively configured such that the first email is notdeleteable by an email system user.
 16. The non-transitory computerreadable medium in accordance with claim 10, wherein the steps furthercomprise: selectively re-assigning the first email to an alternatedesignated user-recipient in response to an absence of an assigneddesignated user-recipient.
 17. A system for processing email, the systemcomprising: a centralized inbox communicatively coupled to an emailsystem, the centralized inbox operably configured to receive a firstemail; a database system communicatively coupled the email system, thedatabase system operably configured to store the first email; aprocessor communicatively coupled to the email system, the processoroperable to: assign the first email to a first one of a plurality ofemail queues in a first assignment, each of the plurality of emailqueues associated with at least one designated user-recipient, the atleast one designated user-recipient having a skill set suitable forprocessing emails within the associated email queue; generate and store,in response to a designated user-recipient associated with a first oneof the plurality of email queues accessing the first email from thefirst one of the plurality of email queues and performing a first actionrelated to the first email that is at least one of drafting and sendinga reply to the first email, or resolving a request within the firstemail by docketing a deadline and sending a confirmation response email,a first historical data and associate the first historical data with theassignment of the first email to the first one of the plurality of emailqueues, the first historical data including an identification of adesignated user-recipient associated with the first assignment to thefirst one of the plurality of email queues and an indication of anamount of time spent by the designated user-recipient associated withthe first one of the plurality of email queues to perform the firstaction; after assigning the first email to the first one of theplurality of email queues and in response to the designateduser-recipient associated with the first one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the first one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing the first action related to the first email,assign the first email to a second one of the plurality of email queuesin a second assignment; generate and store, in response to a designateduser-recipient associated with a second one of the plurality of emailqueues accessing the first email from the second one of the plurality ofemail queues and performing the second action related to the first emailthat is different than the first action, a second historical data andassociate the second historical data with the assignment of the firstemail to the second one of the plurality of email queues, the secondhistorical data including an identification of a designateduser-recipient associated with the second assignment to the second oneof the plurality of email queues and an indication of an amount of timespent by the designated user-recipient associated with the second one ofthe plurality of email queues to perform the second action; determine afirst time interval, defined as the amount of time that the designateduser-recipient associated with the first one of the plurality of emailqueues spent performing the first action based on the first historicaldata; determine a second time interval, defined as the amount of timethat the designated user-recipient associated with the second one of theplurality of email queues spent performing the second action on thefirst email based on the second historical data; generate a bill forprocessing the first email, the bill including the first time interval,description of the first action, the second time interval, thedescription of the second action, and an identification code identifyinga matter associated with the first email; and in response to a userrequest, display an email history of the first email, the email historydescribing sequential assignments to the plurality of email queues andincluding the first and second historical data in a chronological order.18. The system in accordance with claim 17, wherein: assignment of thefirst email to the first and the second ones of the plurality of emailqueues is performed according to a predetermined email process flow. 19.The system in accordance with claim 18, wherein: the predetermined emailprocess flow includes a set of customizable rules created by an emailsystem administrator.
 20. The system in accordance with claim 17,wherein the processor is further operable to: re-assign the first emailto an alternate designated user-recipient in response to an absence ofan assigned designated user-recipient.